Dr. Jongerius sees math as both art and language and encourages students to communicate mathematics efficiently and effectively.
Language specialist
Dr. Jongerius enjoys learning different languages, as she demonstrated when she graduated with majors in both math and English, as well as with a German minor. Teaching primarily math, she considers herself a foreign language instructor helping students learn to communicate in this sometimes unfamiliar language.
Student mentor
Dr. Jongerius received the Northwestern Teaching Excellence Award in 2005. Students say, “Her classes emphasize an atmosphere of learning, but we are also able to laugh with each other and talk about our lives as a class. She brings out the best in all of us as she helps us when we struggle and encourages us when we succeed.”
Published author
Part of a team of writers for a book titled Mathematics Through the Eyes of Faith, Dr. Jongerius also combined her two greatest academic loves—math and literature—to write “Rules and Insights: Connecting the Mathematical and Linguistic Abilities of C.S. Lewis,” an article published in the Journal of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences.
Personable
When they served as the parents-away-from-home for a student from California, Dr. Jongerius and her husband would invite students over for dinner. She loves it when students drop by her office with math problems or just for a visit.
